All batteries on deck

Exchangeable batteries in 20 foot containers, 5 megawatt electrical engines on the propeller axis, and charging services are what the students propose to clean up the maritime industry.

About a month ago, maritime technology student Peter Paul van Voorst tot Voorst posted a pitch on his LinkedIn page saying: ‘I’m founding a new company which will play a game-changing role in making the maritime industry cleaner and more sustainable. Do you want to know what it’s about? Contact me.’

In his role as Young Maritime Representative, Van Voorst noticed that the maritime industry’s aspiration to become greener and more sustainable was often stifled by technical complexities and long-term investments.

Van Voorst (24) and his co-founder Daan Geldermans (23) see electrical shipping as the greenest solution for maritime transportation, just like in automotive transport. But charging times for 1 megawatt hour batteries are just too long and with the current state of technology, the required battery volume to power an all-electric ship for hundreds of miles is way too large to be practical.

That’s why their company, Skoon (meaning ‘clean’ when spoken with a Dutch accent), concentrates on part electrical ships with a place on deck for some additional 20 foot containers. A hybrid ship like this would have a powerful 5 megawatt electrical engine fitted around the propeller axis. The electric drive can take over from the combustion engine for a short while, or sustain the engine for a longer period and thus reduce emissions from the ship’s chimney. When the ship docks, the batteries will be exchanged with fully charged ones, thus avoiding charging time.

While they’re still looking for investors to build the container batteries, the student-entrepreneurs are confident that the first hybrid cargo ship will appear on the horizon between one and three years. Why? Because it’s both feasible and necessary, argues Van Voorst.

Van Voorst introduces Skoon for RTL-Z